LETTER: Low morale not the problem at Eskom

I was surprised to read the statement by Eskom board chair Mpho Makwana that fixing Eskom will require lifting the morale of the 40,000-plus people employed there (“Eskom must ‘rekindle’ morale and image, says new chair Mpho Makwana”, October 17).

So, beside its financial troubles and inability to keep the lights on, Eskom’s workers suffer from low morale. If I recall correctly, some of the same workers engaged in acts of sabotage during the wage negotiations in July 2018, forcing the government to intervene to end the illegal strike and increase their wages well above the rate of inflation.

The same pattern of intimidation and abuse was evident in the recently concluded wage agreement Eskom reached in July 2022 with three labour unions, bringing to an end what it called a damaging, disruptive, costly and illegal strike that forced it to implement stage 6 load-shedding.

I’m afraid as long as Eskom’s workforce engages in illegal, violent and disruptive strikes that damage the SA economy they will receive little sympathy for their supposedly “low morale”.

Maurizio Passerin d’Entreves
Professor emeritus, University of Cape Town

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